NI HAO from China
E-ZINE / Editors Picks
Artistic Jewelry Shining with Charm
Updated: 2007-07-25 08:39
The awarding ceremony on June 20
Six pieces of cultural relics that have been sorted out from among 13,329
pieces of stored gems around China in the past two years were unveiled in
Beijing on June 20. They are entitled "China's Folk National Treasures."
They are respectively the Pot of Duke Qin in late Western Zhou dynasty
(1100 -771 BC); the scroll "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix"
in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911); the Chinese chess manual scripts "the
Deep Pool, Infinite Sea" in the Qing dynasty; the modern-age Xiuyan Jade
Dragon Bed; the present-day sandalwood carving "Celebrations at Jasper
Lake, A Legendary Wonderland Where the Fairy Queen Lives," and the Qing
Dynasty Wood Carving Screen Wall . These national treasures have been
kept intact through the centuries..
In order to guarantee their safety, an insurance policy has been
purchased for these six folk treasures from the Beijing Sub-branch of the
Sunshine Property Insurance Joint-Stock Co., LTD. at a total cost of 310
million yuan (or some 40 million US dollars).
The Pot of Duke Qin
The 42.3-centimeters-high pot, one of the bronze artistic gems in ancient
China, is intricately embellished. Around the inner brink of the pot are
two lines of Chinese characters meaning "it was the Duke of the State Qin
that had the pot made." Experts confirmed that the pot was made as a
ritual vessel for the Duke of the State Qin, a ducal state in late
Western Zhou Dynasty.
The pot was purchased by the noted Taiwan collector Hsu Yu-hai for a huge
sum of money and returned to China in recent years.
The scroll "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix"
The 7-meter painting scroll "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix
" is a masterpiece of Qing dynasty painter Shen Quan, who distinguished
himself for his flower-and-bird painting works. It's a piece of
meticulous painting creation with fine, delicate strokes in dark ink and
rich colors. In this painting, there are approximately 300 lively birds,
such as phoenixes, peacocks and golden pheasant, all with beautiful
feathers against a backdrop with Chinese parasol trees, willows and peach
trees.
The painting master Shen Quan used to be invited to Japan to share his
superb painting skills. Immediately upon his return, Shen Quan did the
masterpiece "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" with the
pigment presented to him by the Japanese emperor.
The scroll was purchased by a curio collector in 1975 at Liulichang in
Beijing, at the cost of 180 yuan, which was relatively expensive at that
time.
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